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Magnesium And You: Muscle Cramps, Sleep, And Performance

By Dr. Tamara Kung, ND

Magnesium is a mineral that is integral to helping us feel and function our best. It helps us build protein, strong bones, normalizes blood pressure and sugar levels, and it also helps keep our hearts beating steadily and healthily! 

But did you know that the magnesium is not just important for your overall health but can also be a game-changer for your fitness goals? Magnesium is one of the most essential minerals that play a crucial role in muscle function, energy production, and recovery. So, let’s dive into the scientific benefits of magnesium and how it can help you achieve your fitness goals.

Improves Muscle Function

First up, muscle function. Magnesium is a key component in muscle contraction and relaxation. This means that if you’re deficient in magnesium, you may experience muscle cramps, weakness, and fatigue. By ensuring adequate magnesium levels, you can optimize your muscle strength and endurance.  

Magnesium is involved in the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the molecule responsible for powering up every cell in our body. This means that magnesium is essential for maintaining energy levels during your workout and preventing fatigue. So, if you’re feeling sluggish during your workouts, low magnesium levels may be a contributing factor. 

Improves Recovery

Magnesium is also crucial for recovery after exercise. It helps to reduce inflammation, decrease muscle soreness, and improve muscle repair. This means that by incorporating magnesium via food or supplement into your post-workout routine, you can recover faster, allowing you to bounce back and stay on top of your fitness routines. 

Improves Sleep

Magnesium has also been shown to improve sleep quality, reduce stress and anxiety, and regulate blood sugar levels. All of which can have a significant impact on your fitness journey.

It also has anti-inflammatory qualities. Maintaining appropriate levels will reduce post-workout muscle soreness compared to being deficient.

You can check your serum magnesium levels through a blood test with your healthcare provider or naturopath! 50% of the population are found to be deficient in this mineral, mostly because of the proliferation of fake, processed foods which make our plates look like shades of beige and offer very little magnesium (or any nutrient for that matter). 

Recommended daily intake for the average adult is 310-420 mg per day.

One of the best ways to get your daily magnesium dose is through your foods! Real, whole foods are where all your magnificent minerals are found! So why not enjoy deliciousness and get your magnesium in at the same time? 

This is a chart of some of the top food sources of magnesium.

FoodServings SizeMagnesium (mg)
Pumpkin seeds¼ cup190
Spinach, cooked1 cup157
Swiss chard, cooked1 cup150
Tempeh1 cup134
Quinoa, cooked1 cup118
Chia seeds1 oz (2 tbsp)110
Edamame1 cup100
Brown rice1 cup84
Cashews1 oz 82
Almonds1 oz 80
Halibut3 oz90
Mackerel 3 oz 82
Salmon3 oz26-84
Tofu1 cup74
Dark chocolate1 oz 64
Black beans½  cup60
Avocado1 medium58
Peanut butter1 oz49
Yogurt, plain1 cup 42

With so many of us potentially deficient in magnesium, it’s important we learn how we can increase intake to improve our health. Supplementation can be a safe and efficient way to make sure you are covered. Again, speaking with your healthcare provider or naturopath can help you tailor the dose and direct you to the best form for your needs (you may have noticed the variety of magnesium supplements out there and it can feel overwhelming). 

Better yet, try out this simple recipe rich in magnesium.

Spinach Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Feta

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups fresh spinach leaves
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, pumpkin seeds, feta cheese, and red onion.
  2. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper.
  3. Drizzle the dressing over the spinach mixture and toss to coat.
  4. Serve immediately and enjoy!

This recipe is not only delicious, but it’s also a great way to get a dose of magnesium from the pumpkin seeds and spinach. Enjoy this salad as a side dish or add some grilled chicken or tofu to make it a main course.

References:

Bertinato J, Wang KC, Hayward S. Serum Magnesium Concentrations in the Canadian Population and Associations with Diabetes, Glycemic Regulation, and Insulin Resistance. Nutrients. 2017 Mar 17;9(3):296. doi: 10.3390/nu9030296. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5372959/

Magnesium fact sheet for health professionals. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.Retrieved from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/

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Gaining Doesn’t Have to be Painful: Sustainable Habits From the Comfort of Your Green Zone

By Dr. Tamara Kung, ND

A couple of years ago I watched a Ted Talk given by Dr. Stephen Seiler, a professor in Sport Science at the University of Agder in Norway. He described a surprisingly contradicting phenomenon he noticed in top-performing endurance athletes that went against the frequently quoted and deeply embedded “No pain, no gain” mentality so prolific in our society. 

So many of us grow up learning that to improve, we have to push ourselves through pain and sacrifice. Cue all the brutal montages in the movies of super-intense training with scrunched-up faces gasping for air and bodies dripping with sweat, and the illusion they are training this way every single day. 

What piqued Dr. Seiler’s interest was when he was out for a run one day and saw one of the top athletes he had previously studied in his lab, approach a hill while on her run. He knew she was capable of high levels of performance, so was taken aback when she stopped running and began walking up the hill. To him, if there was a hill, he’d push himself to run up there as fast as he could, so why was this talented athlete not running when she could clearly do so?

What he discovered was that most of the elite athletes stay in their green zone most of the time. 

  • The green zone is defined as the level of activity where you can hold an easy conversation and feel only a mild level of exertion. 
  • Yellow zones are when you can respond in a few word phrases and feel a moderate level of exertion. 
  • Red zones are where you are gasping for air and feel extremely pushed to your exertional limits (what we see in the movies).

An example was taken from the all-time winter olympian Marit Bjørgen who let researchers gather data from all her training years. During her peak years of training, Marit’s year would be in the green zone for about 800 hours and less than 100 hours in her yellow and red zones. 

Furthermore, the best marathon runner in history, Eliud Kipchoge, takes the same approach. “I perform 80 percent on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and then at 50 percent Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday”. Lots of green zone in his training.

Spending most of their practice in the green zones allows the most successful athletes to build a strong foundation for those moments of yellow and red zone intensities. It’s a place where they can practice comfortably, enjoy it, and recover, day in and day out. And that’s where the success comes from.

Practice needs to be sustainable, that’s where our bodies and minds rewire and create new adaptations and improve our performance.

Daily moderately high intensity can lead to burnout and stagnation, and unfortunately, this is what happens to a lot of people when they get excited about hitting a new workout regime hard. They believe they will see more benefits if they go all out every day and get frustrated when they can’t sustain this. It’s because it’s not sustainable, and this idea of No pain, no gain is not realistic.

Now, let’s apply this theme to other skills as well.

Nutrition

  • Green zone examples:
  • Replacing one processed snack with berries / your favourite fruits and nuts instead. 
  • Having a hearty, colourful salad for lunch 1 day per week
  • Incorporating one new fruit, vegetable, bean, or any plant food per month
  • Yellow zone examples: 
  • Having a cup of berries on alternating days for your snacks
  • Having a colourful salad on alternate days for lunches
  • Avoiding eating after dinner on weekdays
  • Red zone examples:
  • Avoiding added sugars and processed foods 
  • Having colourful meals that contain all 7 colours daily
  • Enjoying at least 40 different foods a week

Sleep

  • Green zone examples:
  • Putting blue-light-blocking glasses on as dusk approaches to protect your melatonin
  • Turn on a salt lamp or light candles in the evenings
  • Silencing device notifications 2 hours before bedtime
  • Yellow zone examples:
  • Take your phone/ any device out of the bedroom when you sleep
  • Avoid sitting on the couch watching tv at night, and discovering alternate activities to do instead.
  • Red zone examples:
  • In bed at a time where you achieve 8 hours of sleep
  • There are no devices or screen use at least 2 hours before bed

As you can see, we can apply this green zone style of training to the lifestyle habits that we want to practice supporting sustainable health. Your green zone practices should be relaxing, and most importantly enjoyable. Configure a green zone practice that feels best for you, something you look forward to and will be able to sustain and build up your strength and success in!

Reference:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237096628_Does_Polarized_Training_Improve_Performance_in_Recreational_Runners